Author's note: I am not good at foreshadowing, and I'm afraid that whatever I intend to be a hint that stealthily slips into the reader's subconscious is usually a brick that hits him or her over the head. Ah, well. You guys don't seem to mind.

On another note, I should finish writing the story either tonight or tomorrow, and it's looking like there'll be 44 or 45 chapters. In any case, I present to you chapter 36.

February 16th, 2004

10:43 am

Misa Amane sniffled and shoveled another bite of ice cream into her mouth. How had she messed up like this? Not only did Light not like her like she liked him, but he had actually hated kissing her so much that he had had a panic attack! How was she supposed to get Light to like her if she couldn't even date him without making him go catatonic? She sobbed a little more and spooned more ice cream into her mouth.

Thud.

Misa jumped and brandished her spoon at the empty air, wondering what had made the noise. There was nothing out of place in her room, except...

Was that a notebook?

Misa looked around, slightly creeped out. No one could have come in her room without her hearing it, but then how did it get there? Had it been there before, and it just fell off of something?... No, there weren't any tables or chairs nearby. It was just lying there in the middle of the floor.

Misa stood slowly and approached the notebook. She poked it with the spoon, then looked around wildly. Nothing happened. She sighed, relieved.

"I'm just being ridiculous..." She picked the notebook up.

"Misa Amane."

Misa froze, looking up to come face to face with the Shinigami who had just spoke. She screamed.

11:04 pm

"So... Gelus died to save me?" Misa clarified when Rem had finished explaining. Rem nodded, and Misa bit her lip. "This Death Note... I'm sure now that it's what Kira was using to kill criminals. But if Kira was just a human with a Death Note..." She frowned. "That means the government wasn't lying. Kira must be in prison, or dead."

She flopped on her bed, kicking her legs in thought. "I should take up Kira's mantel, but if Kira's gone, then that must mean that L or somebody found out about the Death Note... It could be dangerous to continue. I'd need the eyes, I'd need to be careful..." Misa hummed, thinking. Her thoughts strayed to Light. What would Light want her to do?...

She suddenly remembered Light's bitter smile as he said that his stalker was in an institution for the criminally insane. He must have wanted justice to be done. Misa could do it for him!

Misa stopped kicking her legs, coming to a decision with a bright smile. "I'll do it! I'll become Kira." She paused. "And I'll find out what happened to the real Kira, and kill L."

February 17th, 2004

5:02 pm

Light's cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pushed himself away from his homework as he looked at the caller ID. His brow furrowed.

"Dad? Hello?"

"Light. Turn on the television, right now."

Light's stomach jumped in panic and he turned the television on as he asked, "What is it, what's happening?"

"Turn to the news."

Light did so, then almost dropped the phone.

"That's right," the newscaster was saying, looking shaken. "It appears that Kira is back. At least twelve criminals have died in the past twenty four hours. At present, the world governments have not issued any statements..."

"How?... This shouldn't be possible," Light said fiercely. "Kira is in prison. L has the Death Note—he wouldn't use it like this. This shouldn't be possible!"

"I know. I know," Light's father said, sounding just as distressed. "Matsuda and I are being thoroughly questioned, but we can't reveal anything. L hasn't contacted us yet—has he talked to you at all?"

"No." Light couldn't bring himself to feel angry with L right now. He was too confused and, he admitted to himself, scared.

"I have to go now, Light, I shouldn't have called at all," Soichiro said seriously. "Please tell your mother that I won't be coming home tonight."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Dad."

Light flicked his phone shut, glancing back at his homework. It was no use. He'd get nothing done, now.

6:42 pm

Light's cell phone rang again, and he turned the volume down on the news broadcast that he had been glued to since his father called earlier. Unknown caller.

"Ryuzaki," Light greeted blandly as he picked up the phone.

"Light. I suppose you've heard."

"What's going on?"

L sighed on the other end of the line. "I wish I knew."

"Teru Mikami is still confined?"

"Yes, and he's due to be questioned soon. He is without his Death Note or information regarding the criminals who have died in the past day. My best guess is that we are dealing with someone completely new, with a different Death Note. Probably a Kira supporter."

Light swallowed heavily. "You still have the Death Note? Nothing's happened to it?"

"Mikami's Death Note is securely in a vault. No one has touched it."

"Right. Right..." Light's eyes strayed to the television. "How are the world leaders dealing with this?"

L hissed a breath. "Not well. They're demanding answers, and I cannot risk giving them. I'm telling you now: I may very well need the help of you, your father, and Matsuda again. This time, I'm afraid, we may have to work outside the government."

Light nodded, thinking. L hesitated.

"I'm sorry, Light."

Light laughed bitterly. "Don't be. You were right."

"...I don't like the way you said that."

"I guess you haven't found out about it, then. I'm surprised—did you stop keeping tabs on me, or are your sources just that bad?" L was silent. "Sayu spent half a week in the hospital after ingesting poison that was meant for me."

"What?" Halfway across the world, L started tapping rapidly on his computer. "Has the culprit been caught?"

"Sort of. He was actually stalking Misa Amane and deemed me a threat. He tried to poison me, and he followed Misa home..." Light paused. "On second thought, this is probably relevant. When the man pulled a knife on her, he died of a mysterious heart attack."

"You didn't think to mention this to me when it happened?"

"First, Kira was gone. I thought it was a coincidence. Second, I was angry with you. Finally, even if those two didn't make up my mind, I don't actually have a way to contact you. Remember?"

"...Okay, point taken. When was this?"

Light thought for a moment. "...February 8th."

"A little more than a week before the rise of this... second Kira. It's possible that this Kira was nearby at the time of the attack—an experimental equivalent of Kurou Otoharada, during his first rise."

"Do you think Kira could have been following Misa Amane?"

"Or just passing by. It's certainly worth looking into. We don't have anything else to work on aside from victim profiles, and right now it's too soon to tell." L paused again. "I am sorry, Light."

"But you're not going to tell me why you really stopped calling."

"...No."

Light sighed. "Are you going to pull something like that again?"

"No. I'll be back in Japan by tomorrow."

"I'll let my father and Matsuda know as soon as I can."

"...Thank you."

"Goodbye." Light hung up, looked at his phone contemplatively, then collapsed onto his bed.

Kira was back. L was coming back. Light sighed heavily and took a deep, calming breath.

He would be okay. After all... it wasn't like Mikami was coming back.